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Wallace is tackling Taz-manian devil
Tavarski Wallace left his mark as the top tackler in NCAA Division III football.
NILES — Make one thing clear, Tavarski Wallace is not to be confused with Baldwin-Wallace.
One is a 6-foot, 237-pound fullback/linebacker with the Mahoning Valley Thunder, while the other is a NCAA Division III school in Berea.
But silly comparisons aside, Tavarski “Taz” Wallace does have a connection to Div. III.
The un-hyphenated Wallace left his mark at Adrian (Mich.) College as the top tackler in Div. III football with 429 career stops. That’s an average of 13.4 tackles per contest, also a division record.
“Taz” also registered the most tackles in a single season (155) for any Adrian College player and the most tackles in a single game (33).
The 155 came as a sophomore, followed by 136 as a junior and 138 his final season.
Wallace’s dreadlocks, wide body, thick shoulders and defined muscles in a Thunder T-shirt drenched with perspiration after practice belie the manners he acquired while growing up in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
How did Wallace end up at Adrian?
He said he played one-half year in Alabama, then transferred. He then played two years at Madison High in Adrian, Mich.
“I didn’t play my senior year of high school, because I was too old at the time because that half-year before the transfer counted against me as a whole year.”
Taz’s record 429 tackles severely surpassed the previous record of 284.
All but a few of his 429 tackles took place in 30 games over his last three seasons.
The 13.4 tackles per game rank second among all divisions.
“I was blessed to have a productive career,” said Wallace, a three-time All-American whose most successful season came as a senior in 2006 when he registered 7 1/2 tackles for loss and 3 1/2 sacks.
After college, Wallace joined the Detroit Lions for their 2007 rookie mini-camp, but was released prior to training camp.
His last competition was in Denmark last year.
“The level of competition wasn’t that high,” Taz said of playing in the Danish league. “I went to Amsterdam to play a game, but then came back here and trained,” he said of April 2008.
Wallace’s plan in Europe, he said, was to stay in shape and work on technique, but the level of competition wasn’t going to benefit him.
“I couldn’t show film to anyone because they wouldn’t respect Danish league quality,” he said.
While training in the last quarter-year, Wallace’s agent got in touch with Thunder coach Mike Hold.
“There was a mutual interest,” Taz said of his agent and Hold. “I know Coach is a competitive guy, so it didn’t take much for me to get here.”
Taz, whose nickname was coined by his high school basketball coach who couldn’t pronounce Tavarski, said he became familiar with the movement of af2 linebackers from film sent by Hold.
“That was beneficial for me to get and watch it in offseason,” he said.
The 25-year-old who enjoys listen to reggae said he’s somewhat inclined to relax when off the field.
“I’m a pretty laid-back person who doesn’t go out a lot. But I watch a lot of ESPN,” he said.
Wallace said he’ll complete six credits needed to graduate with a major in criminal justice this summer.
How will Tavarski approach his first season in af2 and with the Thunder?
“Most guys are here to compete and win,” he said. “I had a great college career, now I’m here to compete and win.”
bassetti@vindy.com